The present invention relates to image forming equipment provided with a system for collecting the residual waste toner removed from the surface of an image carrier after an electrostatic latent image has been formed on the image carrier and made visible with toner and the toner image transferred onto a copying material. More specifically, the present invention relates to the specific waste toner container configuration for collecting the waste toner.
An image forming apparatus, such as an electronic photographic copying machine, forms an electrostatic latent image on a photoreceptor as an image carrier and develops the latent image by a developing unit. After the image made visible with toner is transferred onto a coying material, the residual toner on the image carrier is removed by a cleaning means, such as a cleaning or scraper blade. The waste toner thus removed is conveyed by transport means such as a screw to the exterior of the cleaning unit installed in the copying machine, and collected in a waste toner container positioned facing an outlet formed in the end portion of the transport means. With the above construction, it is easy to dismount the container for repair, maintenance or replacement when the container is full of waste toner. However, in disconnecting the waste toner container from the outlet of the transport means of the cleaning unit, waste toner tends to drop into the copying machine through these outlet, soiling the machine interior, which is a disadvantage of the conventional waste toner removal system.